We encourage and welcome open, lively comments and conversations on this site. We ask you to please bear in mind our guidelines when submitting comments. However, in order for the IRIS website to run smoothly, for it to feel like a safe and supportive place, and to allow us to achieve our aims, the site will be moderated.

This means that a group of moderators have been registered from among members in order to look over what is being posted from time to time and remove anything that is not appropriate. The decision to publish comments received via the IRIS website remains at their discretion. The views expressed by any users are solely theirs and are not necessarily endorsed by IRIS/Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Sussex Oakleaf or MIND in Brighton and Hove.

The website is moderated by a team of dedicated volunteers and staff, called Moderators who have the ability to moderate across the entire site. Although the Moderation Team is made up of volunteers and staff, they are hand picked members with a keen interest in the site, who have proved to be positive contributors. It is their role to ensure the site rules are upheld and to help the community when required. As well as our volunteers, we rely heavily on our members to flag content that could be deemed inappropriate or which contravenes our website rules - bringing it to the attention of the Moderators.

Moderation

All comments will be published instantly on the IRIS website and will be checked retrospectively by Moderators who will monitor the site between 9.00 am and 9.00 pm Monday to Friday and 11.00 am and 9.00 pm Saturday and Sunday. Moderation is not about censoring your views. The aim is to ensure that comments relate to users of IRIS having a safe environment in which to give and receive support and encouragement to enhance their recovery process. If a comment contravenes any of the Discussion Rules it will be removed and will be returned to the participant by e-mail, along with a reference to the Discussion Rule(s) contravened. Responding to comments We read every comment, and respond wherever we can. Website Monitoring Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will monitor and control the use of the IRIS website, which enables it to view all usage of the website. This includes, but is not limited to, user details, posts made, pages accessed, files downloaded, graphic images viewed. Users should not expect the use of or the contents of the IRIS website to be private although the identity of users will not be available to other users. All usage will be monitored as required to ensure that users are complying with the requirements of this policy and that no misuse is taking place. Removal of Use As a user of the IRIS website you have a responsibility to comply with all of the following Discussion Rules (Terms and Conditions) and to be aware that if something appears on the site that is in breach of the Terms and Conditions and might cause offence: it will be removed with every expediency; and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust retains the right, in its sole discretion, to remove a users access to the IRIS website with immediate effect. Discussion Rules (Terms & Conditions) By registering with IRIS you agree to abide by the discussion rules. These include: The IRIS website is not a crisis service and therefore we would recommend that if you are feeling suicidal or likely to self harm that you contact the local crisis services who are waiting to help. The IRIS website may not be used for the transmitting, retrieving or storing of any communications or images, which are harassing, defamatory or pornographic (see below) Harassing - harassment is unwanted conduct (including insults and ‘jokes’) which relates to gender, race, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or other similar issues. You are expected to not be offensive, hurtful, or discriminatory and not to disclose your identity, or encourage others to disclose their identity whilst on line. Behaviour – users are prohibited from making any comment/entry which poses a risk to clinical well being of others. Whether the content of any entry made poses a risk to other IRIS website users will be at the discretion of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Defamatory – defamation is the publication of material, which adversely affects the reputation of a person or company. Copyright - copyright means that the owner of such material has the exclusive right to determine how that material might be copied and used. Copyright material may not be transmitted if the owner’s permission has not been obtained. Pornographic - pornographic means any material of a sexual nature. As there can be no possible legitimate business use for accessing or transmitting sexually explicit materials at work, the question of whether or not such material constitutes pornography is not relevant to the use of IRIS website and all such material is prohibited. Use of the IRIS website to deliberately propagate computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses or trap door programs is prohibited. Chat Room - This facility will allow service user members to chat live with each other. TO BE DEVELOPED:The Chat Room will be open between 6.00 pm and 9.00 pm, 7 days per week and during these hours there will be Moderator present to ensure that it remains a safe environment for users. Message Board - Messages can be left on here for other service users to comment on. Messages can be deleted by staff if deemed inappropriate. After 6 months messages should be automatically deleted. Private Messages – Private messages may be sent between users. Please ensure that the content of these messages is appropriate. Please note that private messages will not be moderated and users are responsible for content. We reserve the right to suspend comments at any time. Where we choose not to publish a comment for a reason other than those listed above, we will reply to the commenter by email explaining our reason and inviting them to make appropriate changes so that the comment can be reconsidered. Warnings The IRIS website operates a ‘3 warnings’ policy regarding contravention of the discussion rules. When a Moderator believes a rule or guideline has been broken, a warning may be issued to that member. The 3 warnings policy operates as follows: First Warning A friendly “ first warning” message is sent to let you know that something you have posted is not allowed on IRIS. We use a “first warning” for more minor things, or where we think you may have made an honest mistake and not realised that what you posted was against the rules. A "first warning” is not a punishment and no one will be able to see that you have a "first warning” except you and the Moderators. It will be sent as a private email. “First warnings” do not have a time limit or expire, they will remain on your record so you and the Moderators can see. The aim of “first warnings” is to help familiarise members with a rule they may not have been aware of, allowing them to avoid making the same mistake in the future, and to aid the member in their continued use of the site. Second Warning A “second warning” is a more severe message which you may receive for breaking a rule on IRIS. We use “second warnings” for more serious things and for instances where it is clear that the intention was to break the rules and/or cause trouble. We also give “second warnings” to members who have repeatedly broken the same rule and ignored previous strikes and messages. A “second warning” is not a punishment, but it is meant to act as a deterrent. “second warnings” contribute to your total and appear in your wall so members will be able to see you have been warned. Most “second warnings” expire within 7 days. However, the “second warning” will stay on your record so you and the Moderators can see. Third Warning A “third warning” will result in an instant ban from the IRIS website for a 3 month period or longer, depending on severity. After the 3 month period, the individual may appeal in writing and may be allowed back for a trial period initially. A “third warning” will stay on your record so you and the Moderators can see. Links to other websites Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is not responsible for the content of external websites and links to external sites should not be taken as an endorsement of their content.